Bristol Community College officially opens new Taunton learning center

Friday

Aug 1, 2014 at 11:29 PMAug 3, 2014 at 4:13 AM

Charles Winokoor Taunton Gazette Staff Reporter @cwinokoor

Enrollment for the upcoming school year at Bristol Community College’s new satellite learning center in the former Taunton Catholic Middle School is expected to exceed that of the past year.

“We’re very confident we’ll surpass that number,” said Benjamin Baumann, registrar for Fall River-based BCC, which also offers programs in New Bedford and Attleboro.

Friday marked the official ribbon-cutting for BCC’s new Taunton site.

During the past year, the community college had provided day classes at the old Cohannet School building, where it shared space with the school department’s Taunton Alternative High School program. BCC had also offered night classes at Benjamin A. Friedman Middle School.

The former Catholic school building on Summer Street is large enough to accommodate both day and evening class students.

Baumann said a year ago 184 students in Taunton registered for the fall semester, with 225 attending classes. As of Friday, he said, 226 students had registered for the upcoming semester.

Students still have time to register or add classes before the semester starts on Sept. 2, he said.

Besides credit classes, BCC in Taunton offers adult, basic-education both days and evenings.

Those classes typically lead to a high school equivalency degree, formerly known as a GED, but now called HiSET to reflect a new approach to measuring knowledge and proficiency.

The 82-year-old building, which opened in 1932 as Monsignor Coyle High School and became a Catholic middle school in 1972, became available to BCC after the Fall River Diocese approved a plan to transfer students in grades six through eight to Coyle and Cassidy High School on Hamilton Street.

The move was made in response to decreasing enrollment and mounting debt.

BCC has signed a one-year license agreement with its landlord, the Diocese of Fall River, said Mary Pat Tranter, president of Coyle and Cassidy.

Tranter said, a year from now, the diocese will evaluate the success of both BCC and the transfer of middle school students to nine classrooms at Coyle and Cassidy.

BCC has offered classes at various Taunton locations during the past two decades, but speakers at Friday’s ribbon-cutting, which drew a crowd of about 50, were jubilant at the prospect of BCC finding a permanent home in the Silver City.

Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said it “couldn’t be a better fit for the city.”

He said students from BCC could someday take advantage of a life sciences campus and training center to be built on land that once was part of the now-closed Paul A. Dever State School.

Hoye also praised Tranter for her quick action in facilitating the deal, securing the school for BCC.

BCC president John J. Sbrega said the middle school location represents a “dream come true for us.”

Sbrega, 72, said he was excited to learn from state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, during BCC’s commencement on May 31, that the school , which has its own computer and science labs, might be available.

Pacheco said when South Coast Rail service becomes a reality, it will include a station within walking distance on Arlington Street.

“This will be an extraordinary location,” he said.

State Rep. Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset, said the successful move into the former middle school reflects the state Legislature’s commitment to community colleges.

Fellow representative Keiko Orrall, R-Lakeville, said she has a son attending BCC, which she said provides an “excellent and affordable education.”

Tuition at BCC is $4,176 per year. Coyle-Cassidy charges students an annual tuition of $9,050; Taunton Catholic Middle School charges $5,850.

Also attending the event were state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton, and Joan Menard, a former state representative, who retired from BCC this year as vice president of BCC’s workforce development and learning program.

Sbrega also complimented Gloria Saddler, who has been director of BCC in Taunton for more than three years.

Felicia Saulenas, 18, stopped by to register for a third semester. She said she plans to pursue a career in nursing.

“It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl,” Saulenas said.

The Taunton High graduate said she looks forward to attending classes at the new location and eventually working as a nurse in the city.

Sbrega said the “center” moniker in Taunton will probably be around for five years or so.

He said that’s how long it will likely take the state’s Board of Higher Education to approve and recognize the implementation of a full, academic program, at which point it will become a campus.

“This is great,” he said of the former middle school. “”It’s like turn-key. Everything is ready to go.”